Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

corvette · July 27

When I drove from NYC to Philly a couple years ago, I took the car side. Couldn't tell much difference between the sides in terms of overall speed.

stickguy · July 27

in the old days the split sides ended a lot earlier (exit 8A) and they used to be long backups coming southbound. And I always found that the truck side moved better through it (because of lower volume probably, and it was fewer lanes). maybe a decade ago they widened it all the way down to where 195 comes in and it pretty much eliminated any issues with clogging up at that point.

jmonroe1 · July 27

tjc78 said:
Truck lanes always here too.

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When I did my last stint of consulting (almost 8 years) I drove the PA turnpike for about 40 miles round trip. One 10 mile stretch had 3 lanes so trucks used the right lane as suggested, I did too because there were lots of times the truck traffic was light to non existent. So it was like having my own private lane. I was constantly amused watching cars jockey for position in the middle and left lane. I set my car on cruise and just watched them fight it out as I usually got to my exit ahead of them. Some folks actually believe that when you’re on the turnpike you’re supposed to ride in the left lane continuously.

There are plenty of folks that think semi’s are a hazard to humanity but my experience is that truck drivers are the safest drivers not rouges. Your run of the mill car drivers are the rouges. Just my opinion.

jmonroe

nyccarguy · July 27

Growing up, whenever we took the NJ Turnpike my Dad always drove with the trucks. I thought it was to drive my Mom crazy. He said that most truck drivers are very disciplined drivers and they’ll tap their brakes when they know there’s a cop ahead from the CB radio.

tjc78 · July 27

@nyccarguy said:
Growing up, whenever we took the NJ Turnpike my Dad always drove with the trucks. I thought it was to drive my Mom crazy. He said that most truck drivers are very disciplined drivers and they’ll tap their brakes when they know there’s a cop ahead from the CB radio.

I’ll take my chances with the trucks than the clapped out black 05 Altimas doing 97 in a 65 while texting.

stickguy · July 27

based on my experience they usually had VA plates too.

28firefighter · July 27

Slightly better photo after a bath and a very basic ceramic coat.

au1994 · July 28

You need to update your sig! Although I guess you technically still own the GLI.

nyccarguy · July 28

@au1994 said:
You need to update your sig! Although I guess you technically still own the GLI.

I think he does, but technically cannot discuss anything that may or may not be happening with the GLI.

laurasdada · July 28

breld said:

laurasdada said:
Congrats @28firefighter! BMW owns the color blue.

Lucid dealer has contacted me several times since I went lookie-lou'ing a couple weeks ago. Lease prices went way up this month, they're advertising the end of the $7500 lease credit 9/30. Not sure I want to part ways with the wonderful A7 before I pay it off at 0%, assume a similar lease payment for 36 months. The Air GT is leasing for not too much more that Tourings (cars they have on site up here), offering EPA rated 500+ miles range. And, of course, I'd have to upgrade the garage to 240...

Such problems.
Yup - I’m in the same boat…I was pretty enthusiastic about the prospect of a Lucid with last month’s lease deals, but July brought much less attractive offers. And if their online inventory of available cars is accurate, it would seem there has been a rush from buyers to snatch up remaining 2025 models, so not so sure those lease deals are returning any time soon.

I did test out a new S6 e-tron this past Friday. I’m not sure if it’s as nice as your current A7, but that could be a nice option. I have that on my short list, along with the SQ6 e-tron and Polestar 3.

I’m also attracted to the deeply depreciated pricing on lightly used BMW iX’s.

The new A/S 6 etrons look rather interesting, on my list to review. But at this moment I think I'm inclined to stay put. I think. Lucid called again, it's a bit of a drive to the showroom, not sure I want to yet go fully electric.

Since I'm now on a fixed income, am I finally becoming fiscally responsible? If so, does that now make me an adult? If so, darn, maybe I have to rethink my rethink!

laurasdada · July 28

When with the mother-in-law, as she is afraid of trucks (and weather, people, delivery services, the internet, uncovered windows...) I drive in the "cars" lanes. And watch the "truck" lanes move more rapidly.

My favorite moment was when we were on I95 in CT and she's complaining about all the trucks driving like "Bats out of hell!" And I asked her, "You mean like the few I've just passed?" "Yes!!! Where are they all going so darn fast!!!!"

28firefighter · July 28

@nyccarguy said:

@au1994 said:
You need to update your sig! Although I guess you technically still own the GLI.

I think he does, but technically cannot discuss anything that may or may not be happening with the GLI.

VW has provided a rough ETA of August for parts. Remains to be seen if that’s when the factory releases them (probably) or when they arrive in the US (less likely). But, because I have a timeline now that can be measured in weeks, I need to wait and see. I’ve lined up a diminished value claim and more will flip it when it’s done.

stickguy · July 28

Dada, you are still basically on a fixed income when you are working. Since if you stay at your job it likely does not change much year to year. Just likely a higher number than what you are fixed at now!

andres3 · July 28

I was inaccurate in my tire size report previously.

I was right on the X3 m40i; it ran a staggered 20" setup with 245 wide up front, 265 rear.

However, the Macan 21" setup is 265 up front (had that right), but 295 in the rear!!! I believe I said 285.

Anyway, 295 is one wide tire, and it's suitable because the AWD system is highly RWD biased. I haven't driven a lot of cars with tires this wide, but it feels absurdly good out on the twisties.

laurasdada · July 28

stickguy said:
Dada, you are still basically on a fixed income when you are working. Since if you stay at your job it likely does not change much year to year. Just likely a higher number than what you are fixed at now!

While working, I thought my fixed income was actually "broken" as my net check was direct deposited. Now that I'm on SS, I'm just a bit more broke(n) (but not in spirit!).

kyfdx · July 28

The 20” tires on a base Macan are the same widths

corvette · July 28

Those sound like they might be rare sizes... When I had the E39 540i M-Sport, I think there were only two to four manufacturers that made both sizes of the factory staggered setup in the same model of tire, and they were only manufactured seasonally, so tended to sell out. There were some plus zero sizes that would have worked, though, or you could go with different tires front and rear.

sda · July 28

corvette said:
Those sound like they might be rare sizes... When I had the E39 540i M-Sport, I think there were only two to four manufacturers that made both sizes of the factory staggered setup in the same model of tire, and they were only manufactured seasonally, so tended to sell out. There were some plus zero sizes that would have worked, though, or you could go with different tires front and rear.

And can you say expensive and bxxd over?

nyccarguy · July 29

@oldfarmer50 - thought of you yesterday. Was talking to a friend who was on his way back from visiting his friend in SC. They have a huge house with a boat on a river. The wife drives a new Suburban. One kid has a full sized Bronco. Another kid has a Silverado that’s a few years old. They have a big boat (4 outboard motors). The Dad drives a 2013 F150. He said it was for sale around the corner for $8K, so he figured he’d buy it and see how long it lasts.

Sandman6472 · July 30

Finally drove a Bronco Sport at work yesterday. Just o k really...nothing to write home about. Drove nicely and had plenty of power as I drove down I-95 in West Palm. Not being a Ford person, it would never be on my radar but it was just o k just the same.

oldfarmer50 · July 30

nyccarguy said:
@oldfarmer50 - thought of you yesterday. Was talking to a friend who was on his way back from visiting his friend in SC. They have a huge house with a boat on a river. The wife drives a new Suburban. One kid has a full sized Bronco. Another kid has a Silverado that’s a few years old. They have a big boat (4 outboard motors). The Dad drives a 2013 F150. He said it was for sale around the corner for $8K, so he figured he’d buy it and see how long it lasts.

The 3.7L and the 5.0L are pretty reliable but the internal water pump on the 3.5L is a weak point. The 6.2L is so rare I don’t know anything about it. The transmissions are ok if maintained.

You’re sort of out of the rust belt so maybe he won’t suffer the standard rocker and wheel arch rot I see on contemporary F-150s up here. I have a rust prevention regime using WD40 and Fluid Film to try and head this off. This fall I’m planning on flushing out my frame and dumping some used motor oil inside as a rust preventative.

au1994 · July 30

"They have a big boat (4 outboard motors)." Now there's an understatement!

I'm guessing that sucker stays in the water at a personal dock and is not trailered. I don't think anything in their stable would be up to the task.

andres3 · July 30

was watching a video on a review of the Macan EV and it has 22" wheels and tires. I know the RSQ8 in the showroom had 23".

28firefighter · July 30

Update. Parts from VW landed out of nowhere. Now 3 weeks for the repair. Also working on hiring an appraiser to work on the diminished value claim…

au1994 · July 30

28firefighter said:
Update. Parts from VW landed out of nowhere. Now 3 weeks for the repair. Also working on hiring an appraiser to work on the diminished value claim…

Pleasant surprise

stickguy · July 30

so plan is get it fixed, collect a DV check, then dump it for the highest offer?

nyccarguy · July 30

@au1994 said:
"They have a big boat (4 outboard motors)." Now there's an understatement!

I'm guessing that sucker stays in the water at a personal dock and is not trailered. I don't think anything in their stable would be up to the task.

Supposed he tows the boat with the Suburban which he says has the 5.3. Because the 6.2 is more of a racing motor than a towing motor. This guy’s words, not mine.

au1994 · July 30

nyccarguy said:

@au1994 said:

"They have a big boat (4 outboard motors)." Now there's an understatement!

I'm guessing that sucker stays in the water at a personal dock and is not trailered. I don't think anything in their stable would be up to the task.

Supposed he tows the boat with the Suburban which he says has the 5.3. Because the 6.2 is more of a racing motor than a towing motor. This guy’s words, not mine.

8300# towing capacity. I suppose it could tow a big center console.

28firefighter · July 30

@stickguy said:
so plan is get it fixed, collect a DV check, then dump it for the highest offer?

Yessir

carnaught · July 30

Punch alert for Friday.

explorerx4 · July 30

Huh? What? Can't wait.
It better not be a lawn mower because that topic is over on C & C.

stickguy · July 30

I need to get out there shopping. Before I miss the window!

just no idea what to get. A couple of dealership stops with the wife should go a long way to narrowing down the options. Subaru and BMW. and if feeling frisky Porsche.

ab348 · July 30

stickguy said:

just no idea what to get. A couple of dealership stops with the wife should go a long way to narrowing down the options. Subaru and BMW. and if feeling frisky Porsche.

One of those things is not like the others.

stickguy · July 30

first thing is to see what the wife can get in and out of (well, me also to a lesser degree!) so a BRZ and WRX, whatever BMW sells these days, and I just want to sit in some porsches.

if that confirms the real sports cars are going to a problem, I move on to other things that sit higher. WRX, GTI maybe. If those get me the side eye also, will sit in a few compact sporty CUVs (Macan type). That would be something to check out at BMW, because not sure there is much else out there since she does not like Audis.

actually not that much out there unless I up the count to 3!

roadburner · July 30

On July 25 Car and Driver posted a mildly positive review of the 2025 X3 30 on their website. The comments following the article have been almost entirely negative (yes, I joined in the fun). The high point so far has been a post that has been characterized as ChatGPT authored and/or guerilla marketing:
X3 is the best-driving of all the compact luxury SUVs, and that remains so. I quite like the new interior setup; the use of lighting is both inspired and classy in a uniquely modern way. X3 has entered its expressionist era. The integration of the screen into the dash is the best I've seen and the overall design is angular, but cohesive. Refreshing. That said, BMW's infotainment system still needs help to make it user-friendly, and I don't think the electronic vent controls are at all necessary. Overall, a job well done.
As of today. that post has received not a single like but has received 17 downvotes.
That's about the most negative response I've seen on that site, but I doubt that X3 sales will be affected.

corvette · July 30

roadburner said:
X3 is the best-driving of all the compact luxury SUVs, and that remains so. I quite like the new interior setup; the use of lighting is both inspired and classy in a uniquely modern way. X3 has entered its expressionist era. The integration of the screen into the dash is the best I've seen and the overall design is angular, but cohesive. Refreshing. That said, BMW's infotainment system still needs help to make it user-friendly, and I don't think the electronic vent controls are at all necessary. Overall, a job well done.

28firefighter · July 30

I ran it through a few LLMs. It’s suspect but not definitive. I think there is a high likelihood someone gave a couple thoughts and LLM spit this word soup out.

I think someone was trolling.

28firefighter · July 30

I asked ChatGPT to write a post as me, given my history with it and what it thinks about my personality, about the i5.

“ Honestly, the i5 M60 is way better than it has any right to be. It’s the size of an orca in a tailored suit and still somehow handles like a proper BMW. The interior is absurdly nice—actual materials, seats that feel illegal in 47 states, and lighting that looks more “modern art gallery” than “RGB gamer cave.” iDrive is still a maze, but at least now you only need a master’s degree, not a full dissertation. And with M Sport and M Pro packages, it finally looks like a BMW again instead of something heading to Del Boca Vista for bridge night or something about to devour my soul. Shocked. Impressed. Mildly offended that I like it this much.”

Sandman6472 · July 31

I drove a fancy BMW Tuesday, black on black, a hybrid 7 model. It was definitely big. Drove nicely but one knew it was a hybrid by the regenerative braking aspect. Was not impressed with either the HVAC or infotainment area's at all...too complicated really! Took me more then a few minutes to get cool air and finally gave up on Sirius/XM and plugged my iPhone into the usb port. A Harman Kardon system just like my GTI has but think mine sounds better. My big boss had me drive it down from the airport to our meeting place for some employee using it.
Guess I just don't like fancy or complicated in any vehicle. For me, if it takes a few minutes to set up the most basic things, it needs to be dumbed down a bit. I don't do fancy, never have. But enough folks out there do, so folks like Mercedes, Audi and BMW will not change direction. Luckily for me, I found my possibly last vehicle, but don't hold me to that!!!

ab348 · July 31

Current BMW interiors do nothing for me. I fact, I would say they often look remarkably awful in terms of both design and materials for a car in that price range. Layer that on top of their somewhat heavy-handed exterior styling and I am puzzled.

au1994 · July 31

I saw something yesterday that I think was click bait so I left it alone but the gist was the A5 coupe and convertible as well as the Q50 are all gone for next year. Any truth to that?

kyfdx · July 31

au1994 said:
I saw something yesterday that I think was click bait so I left it alone but the gist was the A5 coupe and convertible as well as the Q50 are all gone for next year. Any truth to that?

I think the coupe and convertible are already gone..

kyfdx · July 31

For 2025, just the A5 Sportback

breld · July 31

Speaking of AI tools, I responded (nicely) on a Lucid forum where someone confidently stated that you only pay interest on the depreciation portion of a lease. I politely said that, to be clear, you are paying interest on the entire cost (or cap cost) of the car, to which he responded that I was incorrect and that would be insane.

He cited “sources” through his AI search that confirmed his opinion. I did go so far as to share an amortization schedule that I use to track my lease balances that clearly reflects how interest is effectively charged. Not that you have to be an accountant to understand a lease, but I do think my 30+ years of being a CPA trumps the online AI results.

breld · July 31

On the shopping front, I am getting close to a decision on a new EV.

After initially placing a deposit on the Polestar 3 when they were first announced, only to change course and lease the Audi Q8 instead, I decided to take another hard look at the Polestar and it may be the front runner. It would take a little leap of faith on apparent technology glitches early adopters have experienced, but the car itself drives incredibly well, combining the comfort of my Q8 with an eagerness and sporty drive that the Audi lacks.

I’m also taking a close look at the Audi A6 e-tron this afternoon. I’d prefer the S6, but honestly it’s more about aesthetics than actual performance, as the A6 already greatly exceeds the performance of my Q8. There are already strong incentives on the A6, making for very attractive lease deals.

kyfdx · July 31

breld said:
Speaking of AI tools, I responded (nicely) on a Lucid forum where someone confidently stated that you only pay interest on the depreciation portion of a lease. I politely said that, to be clear, you are paying interest on the entire cost (or cap cost) of the car, to which he responded that I was incorrect and that would be insane.

He cited “sources” through his AI search that confirmed his opinion. I did go so far as to share an amortization schedule that I use to track my lease balances that clearly reflects how interest is effectively charged. Not that you have to be an accountant to understand a lease, but I do think my 30+ years of being a CPA trumps the online AI results.

Man.. this reminds me that I've been doing this for 20 years, and no one is getting any smarter..

28firefighter · July 31

Nor do they care to educate themselves. Thats what makes me bananas.

ab348 · July 31

breld said:
I do think my 30+ years of being a CPA trumps the online AI results.

Nonsense, man, don’t you know it’s what all the kool kids are doing?

At its current consumer-level (aka “clueless user”) level of development it does just enough to be dangerous. That is also what gives us AI image processing having people shown with 3 legs or 6 fingers, not to mention display signage with gibberish lettering (a rare language apparently related to Cyrillic). It all needs to go away.

jmonroe1 · July 31

roadburner said:
On July 25 Car and Driver posted a mildly positive review of the 2025 X3 30 on their website. The comments following the article have been almost entirely negative (yes, I joined in the fun). The high point so far has been a post that has been characterized as ChatGPT authored and/or guerilla marketing:
X3 is the best-driving of all the compact luxury SUVs, and that remains so. I quite like the new interior setup; the use of lighting is both inspired and classy in a uniquely modern way. X3 has entered its expressionist era. The integration of the screen into the dash is the best I've seen and the overall design is angular, but cohesive. Refreshing. That said, BMW's infotainment system still needs help to make it user-friendly, and I don't think the electronic vent controls are at all necessary. Overall, a job well done.
As of today. that post has received not a single like but has received 17 downvotes.
That's about the most negative response I've seen on that site, but I doubt that X3 sales will be affected.

————————————————
17 downvotes? I’m surprised they let you vote that many times.

jmonroe

jmonroe1 · July 31

breld said:
Speaking of AI tools, I responded (nicely) on a Lucid forum where someone confidently stated that you only pay interest on the depreciation portion of a lease. I politely said that, to be clear, you are paying interest on the entire cost (or cap cost) of the car, to which he responded that I was incorrect and that would be insane.

He cited “sources” through his AI search that confirmed his opinion. I did go so far as to share an amortization schedule that I use to track my lease balances that clearly reflects how interest is effectively charged. Not that you have to be an accountant to understand a lease, but I do think my 30+ years of being a CPA trumps the online AI results.

————————————————
Nothing against your credentials but when you say you’re a CPA, I can’t help but think that means you’re a Car Purchasing Authority.

jmonroe

Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

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